@katchup_news ✅ The photo of victims is blurred out upon the family of victim’s request. Rest in Peace, Eina Kwon and her unborn baby —————————————- Korean-American pregnant woman and her unborn baby died after being shot by random attack in broad daylight near Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Investigators believe it was a completely random attack as the shooter was a total stranger to the victims. The shooting happened on June 13th, around 11 a.m. on Fourth Avenue and Lenora, when the shooter name Cordell Maurice Goosby, 30, approached a white Tesla stopped at the intersection, and fired six shots into the victim’s vehicle. Sung-hyun Kwon, 37, and Eina Kwon, 34, the couple victims who were in the car got shots, but while the husband got shot in his arm, but his wife Eina has been shot critically. She immediately transferred to the near hospital, but couldn’t make it. Her unborn baby was delivered at the hospital, but did not survive either. She was eight months pregnant. According to the court documents, after Goosby was arrested, he told police that he began firing because he thought he saw a gun in the car, but later found it was false. He was also found that the gun he used for crime was stolen, and has a record of being convicted felon in Illinois. According to their friends and neighbors, Sung-hyun and Eina were loving, giving, caring and hard-working neighbor, whom opened a Japanese restaurant in Belltown neighborhood few years ago. The family is survived by the husband who lost his wife and unborn daughter from the shooting, and the son, who doesn’t even know the fact that he will never see his mom again. #fyp #breakingnews #news #shooting #victim #korean #seattle #pregnant #rip #gofundme #gunviolence #stopgunshootings #family #condolence #businessowner #remember
A full-term Korean-American pregnant woman was indiscriminately shot in broad daylight in the heart of downtown Seattle, resulting in the tragic deaths of the woman and her unborn child.
According to the Seattle Police Department, on June 13 at 11 a.m., a man approached a white Tesla stopped at the intersection of 4th Avenue and Lenora Street in the Belltown neighborhood. The assailant fired six shots at the couple, Eina Kwon, 34, who were inside the car.
Ms. Kwon, who was eight months pregnant, was immediately rushed to nearby Harborview Medical Center, but sadly, she passed away shortly after the shooting. Despite the efforts of the medical staff, the emergency delivery performed on Ms. Kwon was unsuccessful, and the unborn child also died.
The county medical examiner’s office reported that Kwon sustained four gunshot wounds to the head, lungs, and other areas. Her husband, Sung-hyun Kwon, 37, who was the passenger, suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the arm.
Police responded swiftly to the incident and apprehended the suspect near the scene. The suspect has been identified as 30-year-old Cordell Maurice Goosby. It was discovered that he possessed a Washington state ID, but had a prior felony assault with a deadly weapon conviction in Illinois in 2017.
During the suspect’s arrest, law enforcement officers found the handgun used in the crime—a Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm—in his possession. Further investigation revealed that the firearm had been stolen from the Lakewood, Washington area.
The exact motive for the crime is yet to be determined, but based on the available information, it appears to be a case with a yet undisclosed motive.
“The suspect yelled ‘I did it’ as he was being arrested,” the police report said.
The incident took place less than a mile from Pike Place Market, a popular tourist attraction in the Seattle area.
The incident has left the Korean-American community in Seattle in shock.
“The couple who were shot have a 2-year-old son and own a Japanese restaurant, Aburiya Bento House, in the Belltown neighborhood where the shooting occurred,” said Kay, the former director of the Korean American Chamber of Commerce in Seattle.
“It’s heartbreaking that the shooting took place in broad daylight, in a neighborhood that is not known for high crime rates, and resulted in the tragic loss of a Korean-American life.”
The Seattle Police Department is investigating the killing as a hate crime, among other possibilities.
“Not long ago, a Korean-American family was killed in Texas in an indiscriminate shooting, and now a Korean-American woman has lost her life,” said Hokwon Lee, a doctoral candidate at the University of Washington. “I hope the authorities will clarify whether this is an Asian hate crime.”
Meanwhile, crime rates in the Seattle area continue to rise. According to the Seattle Police Department, there have been 32 homicides in the city so far this year, surpassing the average number of homicides over the past decade (31.5).
“Police budget cuts have resulted in nearly 600 fewer officers, and Seattle’s police chief recently issued an order for officers not to pursue suspects committing minor crimes,” reported local media outlet The Post-Millennial on Thursday.
Below is the link to donate and support the bereaved family.
BY YEOL JANG, YEJIN KIM [support@koreadaily.com]
